Hybrid View

Does whiskey deteriorate in an open bottle?

I ran a two year experiment to determine how much whiskey deteriorates in an open bottle. The results seem to confirm the old saw that once a bottle is less than half full, you should probably drink it within two years.

Re: Does whiskey deteriorate in an open bottle?

Originally Posted by sku

I ran a two year experiment to determine how much whiskey deteriorates in an open bottle. The results seem to confirm the old saw that once a bottle is less than half full, you should probably drink it within two years.

Re: Does whiskey deteriorate in an open bottle?

Thanks for taking the time to conduct a long-term experiment and do a full write-up, sku. I've enjoyed reading your blog for some time now, largely because of quality posts like these.
Whiskey deterioration has long been a concern of mine and has probably scared me into not having more than maybe 10 bottles open at a time, which seriously restricts the comparison tasting I enjoy.

Re: Does whiskey deteriorate in an open bottle?

Originally Posted by roostercogburn

Thanks for taking the time to conduct a long-term experiment and do a full write-up, sku. I've enjoyed reading your blog for some time now, largely because of quality posts like these.
Whiskey deterioration has long been a concern of mine and has probably scared me into not having more than maybe 10 bottles open at a time, which seriously restricts the comparison tasting I enjoy.

Thanks rooster. You can always do what Jason suggests in the comments and empty your low fill bottles into smaller bottles to cut out the oxygen.

Re: Does whiskey deteriorate in an open bottle?

Originally Posted by sku

once a bottle is less than half full, you should probably drink it within two years.

If it is a "special" bottle that I want to have around for a while I'll pour it into several 200ml bottles to keep the air out.
That way I can enjoy the original taste and guests seem to appreciate the effort also.